Monday, April 27, 2009

This weekend I was seeing some friends of mine in the city and one asked my if I was still writing this blog. I said yeah, my interest comes and goes, but I do enjoy doing it, reading the others, feeling like a part of the "blogtopia".

He said in reading the blog (keep in mind he is a baseball fan, not so much baseball card fan) that he can tell I am censoring myself, and kinda gave the impression that that may be why my interest and passion for this sometimes wane.

I agree, but don't know what to do to remedy the situation. After doing this for 6 months now, and reading a lot of my predecessors for what is more than a year now, I get to feel like the other writers are more than anonymous opinions and cardboard comments. I think in reading you get to know a lot about the other bloggers and you really do start to feel a sense of community. While I may not be able to pick most of you out of a lineup - I do consider us all friends in a way. And when you are a member of a community, you try to act within its unspoken rules. Try to be a decent person.

Not to say I'm not a decent dude - I feel I am A one if you ask me. But here is another thing I know about myself. I've got a dirty mouth. I try not to really curse on here so much. I've got an awful sense of humor. Not talking about "what do Mayflowers bring?" here... I make fun of massacres, all kinds of people (myself included) and don't get me started on religion.

I try to be a good citizen, and seeing as this isn't really a "personal" blog so to speak, I try to keep most of that out of here. If I were starting fresh, things might be different, but I don't want to say something here to offend someone that I already feel a bit of a kinship with.

I feel that most of you out there are adult enough that if you see something you don't like, you'd stop reading, remove from the blogroll, stop trading, whatever it may be. But I also don't want to start a fire (not that I am even sure I have enough of a readership to do so). But you know what, when I see something lame - I say my god that's queer. I don't really hate gay people, I am very pro gay rights to marry, adopt, live a normal life with everyday rights. This doesn't stop me from calling my friend a fag.

But how does everyone else feel about this? Do any of you find yourselves censoring yourselves here (or on your own blogs or comments you leave?). I know my intentions can often be confused. The purpose of language is to be understood... I know that changing how I express my ideas I can still get my point across, but I also don't know that I should or have to.

I'm not really sure where this is all going. It's just something that I was thinking about. Don't know that I have a point or that anything would change. I just know that besides for a F Bomb or 2 at SCU or a Craigslist idiot here and there, this is really a PG rating community. Do baseball cards really lend themselves to anything else? I'm not sure. Not saying that I wanna go NC-17 here, but I know that everything I type (and then erase) isn't always something I feel many people would want to read, or be comfortable doing so. But do I do this for me or you?

Back from the NYC fresh off watching 2 Mets wins @ Citi Field and birthday celebration with best friend. Good Times good times....Here goes year 2K from GCRL with Rey Ordonez.

2000 Pacific Crown Collection - I think this is the fries Pacific card that I own. I dont ever recall seeing these cards before in my life. It's an okay card - clean design, white border, full color backs.... dont think this is a set I would ever pursue.

2000 Upper Deck Victory - Another first for me. Victory - more like non failure - the design is okay -using the head shot form the main pic in the corner is over done. I like to have different photos on my card. Demanding, I know. I like the back design, should use another photo on the back instead of the Mets logo though.

2000 Fleer Tradition - I am usually a sucker for these kind of cards but this is boring and uninspired. Pass

2000 Upper Deck - Is it me or does Upper Deck always come through with a nice design? They may not always be great, but they are rarely bad (see topps 07/08). The back has a lot to say - I think of the year 2K lot - this is my favorite.

2000 Topps (base and gold) - Nice actionish shot of Rey in the field tagging Ellis Burks - Looking further, one of these is actually the Opening Day variety - not base/gold - my bust ya'll.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

There were only a few 99 Rey's included in the huge package from GCRL . Lets run through them.

1999 skybox Thunder- Everything about this card is ugly. The weird border on the top of the card is like a little boys bedspread. The blue/green/ tarp background is nasty. The back says something really stupid. "Man, your skillz on defense are intense. You'd be a better fielder with your bare hands than most are with a glove. Much Love" really fucking stupid - if you don't believe me, check out the small scan below. Oh - yes that is the way the spelled skills.

1999 Upper Deck - Now this is better - reminds me a little of the Topps Finest design without being too gaudy - straight lines, nice photo, clear back with photo - kudos.

1999 Upper Deck collectors Choice - This card strays from the designs of the last few years - this almost looks like they tried poorly for a retro look. Nice card, not remarkable.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

At this point in his career everyone knew who Rey was - an all field no hit shortstop who had a severe propensity for multiple web gems per game. Not sure when in his career it happened, but he also punched teammate Luis Lopez in the face on the team bus. I always hated Lopez so I was still cool with Rey after that.

1998 Score - I love the picture on this card with Rey turning the double play while being taken out. As much as Score had done wrong, they certainly did a few things right. Clean design and a great photo. No photo on the back, but lots of stats/splits and a long paragraph about ole Rey Rey. ++

1998 Fleer sports Illustrated World Series Fever - Well - we all know by the time this card was printed, the Metshadn't made any world series since Rey had hair on his crotch, so I am curious why the chose him in a World Series Fever set... This is super glossy and really boring. SO is theback.

1998 Upper Deck - Ahh, upper Decks legacy of hard to read card fronts will always live o and here is another example. Sure, the design is nice and the player name on the banner on the left is very easy to read, but the team on the bottom is not. Almost makes the card look like an error in that it was printed dark enough - its like someone forgot to fill in the letters. Back has a large action photo. I don't know about you guys - I like a portrait on the back and action on the front... like a reverse mullet of a card if you will.

1998 topps - Gold. Ugly

1998 Score - yup another one, but this one is different. It looks like ray is playing pepper or getting ready for BP. I still like the design, but this shows you what the picture means to a card. The earlier card shown is much better because the photo shows a very exciting point in a play or ball game - this shows us that Rey practiced a bit before games. Boring.

1998 Upper Deck Collector's Choice - Did you know Rey signed with the Mets in 1993 after defecting from the Cuban National Team? Well thanks to UD Collector's Choice you do now! another "classic" or should it be expected design from Ud CC - nice but not exceptional by any means.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

We do not have a winner this week - By my count, there were 17 deaths. The agent in charge at the explosion stated there were 30 in the building at the time of the blast, with many survivors, i estimated 15 deceased on top of the other kills in the episode.

Bailey @ the Nennth Inning was closed with a guess of 12 kills - this will bring him extra consideration in the event of a tie or no winners @ the end of the season.

Here are a few more of the Rey Ordonez cards from GCRL - these are the ones from 1997 that were in the package. Again, I don't know a lot about many of these cards since I was too busy with power chords and getting my first blow j than little slabs of card board. Here they are.

1997 Topps - A fairly basic design sharing time with Brian McRae it looks like. Nothing special here design wise. The back of the card only mentions his fielding - which is really the only thing you can say good about Rey

1997 Donruss - This design I like much more than the Topps - I like the small borders that fade on the bottom and left of the card leaving a full bleed effect - I like full blood a lot - borders are for countries not cards. Another card with Binghamton on it, so I am pleased all the more along with comparisons to Ozzie Smith - I wish it worked out that well - I am happy with Reyes now though.

1997 Upper Deck Collectors Choice - Here we have Rey getting thrown out at first (put out by Joyner). This is your standard Collectors Choice design. I seem to remember these cards always being nice... but kinda boring - that remains true here. The back of this card makes mention of Rey giving Jeter a run for his money for NY SS supremacy - didn't really work out that way did it?

Rey Ordonez was featured a lot in the box that Jim @ GCRLsent over - so I will be taking you through a bunch of Rey Rey cards from his time with the Mets, year by year. First up is 1996 - The Rookie Cards! Keep in mind I was not collecting at all at this time - so I may not be too keen on what set is what - they may be base cards, they may be weird other sets I've never seen before - please don't judge me!

1996 Topps Rookie Prospects - Card shared with Tim Harkrider, Neifi Perez, and Enrique Wilson. A couple of these guys (Perez and Wilson) went on to have nice careers - I kind of like the multiple prospect cards - am I the only one?

1996 UD SP Premier Prospects - I really think this is a sharp card - I like the green/blue theme, the foil is there, but not gaudy at all. One of my favorite cards of the bunch.

1996 UD Diamond Destiny - Easily the ugliest card of this years lot. The circle in the upper right is a see through portrait of Rey's face. what the hell was Ud thinking when they designed this card? Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

1996 Ud Global Impact (Special Report) - another great looking card - I would not mind seeing more like these - There is always a fine line between really neat and really ugly - This card fell on the right side of that debate.

1996 UD Defensive Gems - meh - its nice.

1996 Upper Deck Major League Debut - This card is great because it has a caption on the front "Shows intensity as he scores vs Astros 7/14/96" Wouldn't it be sorta neat if all cards had a short note somewhere on the front or back of at least the date or game the photo was from?

Well, that is all of them. I have a feeling that 1996 is going to be a tough year to beat in the battle for Rey Ordonezsupremacy! Don't forget to play for the 24 body Count contest above this week!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

A few weeks back I got a package from Steve K whom we all know and love. Mets fan from the garbage state who shares the same addictions as the rest of us. I sent him a few 09 Heritage and 08 Stadium Club he needed and he in turn took charge at my want lists!

First and foremost - a bunch of 09 Heritage - 49 cards in all - towards my set - I will continue to show the players I have rostered at any point this year.

Jay Bruce - Have him in 2 leagues... so in two leagues I have no production out of right field - Thanks asshole - start hitting....Chad Billingsley - Man Crush alert - Love this guy - he;s been solid as expectedJohn Danks - Been great so far - looking forward to riding him all year if I canRobinson Cano - This is what I was hoping for in the 8th round - Keep it up RobbyTaylor Teagarden - Fight for playing time... and losingIan Snell - Injury replacement dujour - forgettable thus far

Next up were 31 2007 Bowman heritage cards. do a lot of people not like this set or was it just that it came out before there were 100+ baseball card blogs? I dont really have anyone who i know who collected back then to get an opinion from on this set. Me - A fan.

John Lackey - and we wait...Pat Burrell - I've been lucky on picking his spots to play this year - so I've gotten good production when I throw him out thereRobinson Cano - already discussed

Finally - 22 08 Stadium Club cards -

Prince Fielder - start hitting or eating cheeseburgers. Either way I will like you better

Nick adenhard - I did not have him rostered, but did last year. Rest In Peace kid.

There were also 7 07 52 Rookies in the box - great set fodder, not great fantasy fodder

A while back Zach (or Z Man in the comments page) from Autographed Cards proposed a small trade of some royals he wanted to get signed for a what turned out to be a lot of heritage cards I Needed. Here is what was sent.

Base - 30SPs - 4Baseball Flashbacks - 2News Flashbacks -2

I chose to feature the cards of players I have on my 3 Fantasy Teams. Lets take a look

Jason Giambi - Late round power/RBI grab - hes been decent.Prince Fielder - Traded Jason Bay and Joel Hannahan for him - I needed 1B power. He was robbed of a granny last week (slam, not mother)Travis Snider - Has been very streaky, but went deep twice yesterday! Have him in my standard Roto and Dynasty Leagues - my AL ROY pickDan Haren - My ace in my dynasty league - has pitched great but a hard luck loser so farMike Jacobs - Ugh - former Met bias? finally went yardChris Davis - Ugh again - keeper in my head to head league - finally did something good yesterdayIchiro - Hasen't played yet

Want list has been updated and I am getting closer and closer! I've got a lot of doubles if anyone wants to work out a deal!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Recently reader Duane has been on a hot streak with the 24 Body Count contest, well the luck turned around my way a bit when I received a package from him last week.

First up are 2 09 Heritage inserts I need towards my set. I really like the Rookie Performers set - I think that Samardizja is going to play a big role in that Cubs pen this year because Gregg is awful - and Heilman - well, lets say I have reasons to not have faith. Now, is it me, or does this Then and Now not make sense? Pitcher and a hitter? was that really the point of these? Could not find anyone comparable and really wanted these 2 players in the set?

Next up we have a 08 Heritage Jack Hannahan and 08 Masterpieces Al Kaline for my sets. Not much to say about Hannahan, but I really think that in annals of history - Kaline is overlooked as one of the most dominant power hitters ever. The dude was in-sane. Look it up on baseball reference.

Mex. I hate the Ring of Honor cards that dont feature Mets - and I only kinda like the ones that do. Its how I feel about Keith. Yes he was the heard of our last Championship. Yes he was a great fielder and very good hitter. But he's also a total jackass coke head. He knows a ton about baseball (his book was a very good one, learned a lot about baseball strategy) but I feel like he is socially challenged. Anyone else hear last year when he compared pitching in San Diegos Bullpen to being in a concentration camp? oh boy...

Next we have a nice bunch of Mets to add to add the collection. I really like this 93 Score Select design. I think the cards are very very sharp - who knows maybe in the next 20 yearsor so I may pursue the set.

Now we have another smattering of Mets - these mostly of the 92 Fleer Ultra variety. Again, this is another set that I was getting out of collecting right as this was coming out. I think these are very nice cards and its another long run set. Maybe one day I will look into it, maybe I wont - who knows. I just know its sharp.

Thank you kindly Duane - Good luck to everyone in the next body count contest!

tony = Douche of Herculean proportionsKim = Pants suit + need for proactive - 3 Hotness ratingMe - I did have a tear when Jack begged her leave - I know I know... whatever50 Cent Look a Like - Is Tony his Eminem?

Don - I thought I had your address, cannot locate it - shoot me a line and I can get your cards out to you!

Everyone else - thanks for playing - see you next week I hope - if you want - discuss how tyou felt aobut this weeks episode here!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Here is the thread - sorry its up a few days let - Just forgot about it!

Had a bit of a fuck up last week and thought I lost the Lidge and Chipper cards - well I found them - In my scanner - So Bailey elected to get a couple of packs of cards so those will be going out to him - That means week 2 of Lidge and Chipper being available!

New Wrinkle this week - I have a strong feeling that Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert) is gonig to show up this week or soon. So here it is you will be guessing

How many kills for Jack -

How many kills for others-

how hot on a scale of 1-5 Kim looks -

this is subjective and will be used as a tie breaker in the event of one - so if someone uses the same guess as you this can help figure out the winner! its also an excuse to post this.

As I've mentioned before, I am in 3 pay leagues for fantasy baseball. Each week I will be picking a MVP for the week for each league and mention where I stand. So far, lets just say I'm doing terrible.

Dynasty Roto League - Travis Hafner.300 3 HR 4 R 0 SB 6 RBI

Travis gets the nod really because I am suprised at how well he is doing. I picked him up hoping for this for 1.3 Million, he could really end up being quite a bargain.

Current league standing 8/10

Standard Roto League - Evan Longoria

.481 5 HR 10 RBI 1 SB 5 R

I NEED Longira to get off to a big start since I currently have A Rod, Lackey, and Mauer on my injured list.

Current standing 10/10

Head to Head league.

Heath Bell

2.2 IP 4K 3 Saves

We have so many categories that we use for points that I am not going to go into really, but Heath led my team with 37.5 points received.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

So here is the other package I received in the last week or so that I dont remember where it came from. This is either from Greg over @ Lake Effect Cards in thanks for the Gordons, or from Brandon paying for grad school. I still feel dumb for not remembering, but at least the Cardboard Junkie has had the same problem recently.

Here you see Adam Jones from 08 upper Deck. He is a guy who has tons of upside and is getting a lot of love from the prognosticators in the fantasy land. I did not end up with him in any of my three leagues and thats okay. I hope he does well, the Orioles are an easy team to root for after being bad for so long. This leaves me needing only cards 496 and 522 for this set. Anyone?

Next we have 6 more cards needed for my 08 Topps set. We have a nice mix of veterans, young stars, rookies, and a solid bench player. We also have the ugliest card ever probably -I'm looking at you BJ. This is what is left from Series 2 needed

363, 417, 421, 425, 449, 456, 476, 485, 496, 543, 615, 624, 647,

I know I got emails in the past from someone who said they had them, but they never came, so the pursuit is back on!

Ahhh - 92 Topps - For years me and my buddy Gavin have been joking about how funny it would be to be Dennis Eckersley for Halloween. We just dont have the commitment to grow our hair for a few years and think that wigs are a copout. This is a Post Joey Belle card. Dude could mash. Here is what I need from 92 Topps

315, 340, 357, 735, , 772, 790,

getting close!

Is 91 Fleer not the worst set from 90-94? God its ugly. Gotta love Griffey and Mad Dog though. You don't have to love Berryhill, but I recommend you do.

Finally - we have some cards from this years set pursuits. You know - I HATED the Turkey Red set as a stand alone. Thought it was ugly and not worth my time. But wow - how much do I like it as an insert? I'm not that close to finishing it so no want list posted up. Of all of these players, the only one I ended up with on a fantasy team is Mauer who I got in round 13 in a roto league - just couldn't let him sit there any longer.

Finally, we have a New Age Performer of Carlos Quentin. I dont know what it is, but this is a guy I just don't believe in. Maybe he does it again and I end up with egg on my face, but I'm not holding my breath.

So thank Greg - I'm pretty sure this was your package, you brought me closer to a lot of sets I am working on and thank you for it!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

I dont know anymore - I have a few packages sitting on my desk - those I know who came from - others I have just stacks of cards - no marking and no memories - So these cards are either from reader Brandon who is earning some dough for grad school or Greg @ Lake Effect Cards . I hope neither of you are offended - I cannot keep anything together anymore- its been a weird few weeks.

Anyway, first on the list were a few 93 Donruss cards I needed towards my set. Who are 2 people who are more notable for their off the field behaviors than their skills - both are notorious assholes. One boned Madonna, the other threw a bucket of water on Tim McCarver... Honestly - I'd rather water Tim McCarver I think.

There was a good stack of cards for my 92 Topps set as well. I chose to feature Scott Radinsky since I was a big fan of his punk band in high school when I wasnt really following baseball as closely as I do now. Next we have a draft pick card of one of the few who worked out from this set, Calvin "Pokey" Reese. He had himself a nice career. Finally, we have a Alex Arias rookie card - and 3 scrubs.

Now with my 89 topps set, I dont think I ever realized that all I needed left were futher hall of famers. go figure. I love this set. I think I may like it more than 87 Topps the more I play with it. Also, the Steve Avery card is everything a baseball card that isnt an action shot should be.

Finally, we have a few 89 Donruss cards. I always liked Dunston - he was a "rifleman" for goodness sakes! I dont remember the year, but one time my boy scout troop took a trip down to Yankee stadium. My buddy Chris was a Roberto Kelly fan and he made a sign that said "Nobody Beats Roberto. Rocking Roberto". I still find that amusing.

well - gotta get ready for work now since ball games start at noon today! take it wasy! Also - Eliott Smith is overrated. I dont care if you died, that doesnt make you good - albums with more than 4 good songs do - god this stuff is boring.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Congratulations to Bailey @ the Nennth Inning for correctly guessing the correct kill count of Jack zero and others 1.

In a large SNAFU on my part - I cannot locate the cards that were earmarked for the winner - the Lidge and Chipper GU cards. My only thought is that I might have put them in someone elses package by mistake. If someone out there received a Chipper and Brad Lidge card from they were not expecting, please let me know so I can know where I sent them - I will email you Bailey and work out an alternate prize! I am very sorry! Take care until next weeks contest!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Lately I have really been struggling to post - I'm sorry to those of you who look here regularly - between The Show, Fantasy Leagues, stress at work and such - really just dont have a lot of motivation. So I will be doing some posts here and there for a while until I get my groove back, but probably not daily until I really get back into the swing - but who knows, that could be Wednesday - we'll just have to wait and see.

The cards I am showing today are more from the bounty that Jim @ GCRL sent over. Below is the Great White Hope Gregg Jefferies. A very talented kid who just happened to be a complete asshole. A Couple of odd ball cards - all of these besides the Score card are new to me. I don't know why - but no matter what happens - I always find myself happy to find a Jefferies as a Met cards. This may be because he does sign cards through the mail (I'll post up my success at some point) so that does make me like him even more! Either way - Gergg went on to have a nice career - but was the never the superstar for us he was supposed to be.

Now, a set that I get cards of every now and again that I wish I was collecting when it came out is this Topps Fan Favorites set. I don't know what it is, but I absolutely love these cards. Does anyone really have info on what this set was all about? I did a quick search a few days ago and didnt find anything out really. But Jim - thank you again - next up will be HoJo!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

This week, I will be purging my self of some game used cards of division rivals. These are cards I am not pleased to have anywhere near me, so now they can be yours! We all know the rules right?

how many for Jack>

how many for the rest>

Please liberate Brad and Chipper from my collection! As always all comments must be in by 9PM EST. Also, lets see some talk in the comments? How do you like the season so far? How does this compare to past seasons>? I know that in my mind, nothing beats season 3 - what do you think?

Thursday, April 2, 2009

As mentioned a few days ago, Jim over @ GCRL sent me a herculean box of Mets for my team collection. I could not decide which ones to feature - so over the course of however long it takes - we will get to see them all, player by player. The first player we will feature is no doubt one of the premier players/names in Mets history - especially my era (80s and on) Dr. K Dwight Gooden.

Of the cards received - I already had the 89 Score, 90 Fleer, 90 Topps, both 87 Topps, and the 89 Toppsflashback card. Now I always love getting Mets doubles because they are great for mailing off in hopes of getting signed so now I can send a few more risk free if I don't get them back, I have more!

Now, the best cards were all the odd ball cards I didn't have! The coolest was the 87 Fleer Mini - am I that out of touch that I thought the only minis made then was that Topps league leaders set?

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

First off - in my carelessness I called out 1 death in 24 this week in fact, the dude wasn't dead! So we have Duane winning AGAIN! the man is on fire, or has advance dvds.... maybe he's juicing... who knows for sure - but the cards are their way out - thanks for correcting me guys!

So while things are slow and motivation is low here in Binghamton NY (where I work just laid off 30 people in my office, I was fine, but one of my best friends got let go...pretty bummed for sure) I am just going to be featuring a lot of the Mets cards that Jim from GCRL sent over.

When going through the package my wife came in the room and saw the 3 cards below and said

"Boy, these are stupid"

no no no honey - they certainly are not! We are looking at three Donruss big cards from 1986 of Ron Darling, Dwight Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry! and they are awesome....I've always wanted some BIG Mets but never came across any - I know that storing them is an issue, but I might get some kind of frame or something for them. I know that this is a 3some that any team would be happy to have in their heyday!